Oil prices bounce back from Monday’s losses; natural-gas futures rally

Oil futures settled higher on Tuesday, with prices recovering what they lost a day earlier and then some. “Oil prices, in the short term, are locked in a bit of a trading range,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at The Price Futures Group. “We are still in shoulder season and we’re still being influenced by concerns about the global economy and interest rates.” Meanwhile, the oil market “tries to ignore the dollar but it can’t. When the dollar shows strength, it has put downward pressure on oil,” said Flynn. Still, as the market gets into the winter season, “we’ll see a disconnect between the dollar/oil relationship because oil is going to be needed.” U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery CLZ22, +0.48% rose 74 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $85.32 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural-gas futures, meanwhile, rallied for a second straight session, rebounding after losing 23% last week as warmer-than-usual U.S. weather forecasts dulled the outlook for demand. November natural gas NGX22, +8.56% rose 41 cents, or 8%, to settle at $5.613 per million British thermal units.